Pebble, the company that ignited the smartwatch market with its $10.3m (£6.7m) crowdfunding campaign in 2012, has returned to Kickstarter with a new device called Pebble Time.

The new version has a colour e-ink screen, a claimed battery life of seven days, and is 20% thinner than Pebble’s previous smartwatches. It can also track its wearer’s activity with a built-in accelerometer like a fitness band.

Pebble Time’s crowdfunding campaign went live at 3pm GMT, and hit its $500k funding goal 17 minutes later. It then became the fastest Kickstarter campaign to hit $1m in 30 minutes and $2m in 58 minutes. It will cost $159 (£103) for 5,000 “early bird” backers, although its regular price once it launches in May will be $199 (£129).

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Pebble Time on Kickstarter.

The device is one of only very few smartwatches that will work with multiple smartphones, rather than just being restricted to Android or iPhone, such as, respectively, Android Wear smartwatches or the upcoming Apple Watch.

While Pebble’s new device also includes a microphone for dictating voice replies to messages, its key feature – if it delivers on its promise – will be the week-long battery life. As a comparison, the best Android Wear watches manage three days, while the Apple Watch is expected to need a nightly recharge.

Unlike those devices, though, the Pebble Time has no touchscreen. Instead, it will be controlled by three buttons on its side to scroll through text and activate functions.

Pebble has sold more than 1m smartwatches since its first model in 2012, and now has over 6,500 third-party apps and watch faces available, including apps for music playback and controlling smart-home devices.